Columbia man killed by distracted driving in 2019 has name honored in new law passed by Missouri Legislature

A new Missouri distracted driving law expected to be signed by Gov. Mike Parson, partially is named for a Columbia man who was picking up road cones after a triathlon event on Grindstone Parkway in May 2019, and was struck with a car throwing him roughly 125 feet, eventually dying months later.

The Siddens Benning Hands Free Law is named after Randall Siddens, 34, of Columbia, and Michael Bening, 46 of Raymore, who both were killed by distracted drivers.

From 2022: Paris Road safety walkthroughs expected in September as safety audit progresses

"I am missing the future really (with Randall)," said Adrienne Siddens in a video from AAA, which was marking the passage of the law through the Missouri Legislature. "You think about what your life will be like and imagine the people you will always have with you. If you could trade everything to always have him with you, you would."

The new law is separate, but with similar goals in mind with Columbia's Vision Zero plan of reducing serious and fatal injury crashes. The Columbia City Council heard an update last Monday from Krista Shouse-Jones, Vision Zero program coordinator.

The new Missouri law

The Siddens Benning Hands Free Law passed through the Missouri Legislature on May 11 as part of Senate Bill 398.

It prohibits texting while driving for all drivers, and requires drivers to use hands-free abilities of their phones while using certain apps, such as for navigation or music. The law previously was only for young drivers 21 and under.

Republican and Democratic versions of the bill were incorporated into the final form of SB 398.

More: Columbia woman who killed triathlon worker with car must pay $10 million to man's widow

Nearly 200,000 drivers were involved in distracted driving crashes between 2012 and 2021, leading to just over 800 deaths, AAA said in a news release, referencing Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety data.

“The final passage of the Siddens Bening Hands Free Law is a win for the safety of all Missouri road users,” said. Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, in the AAA release.

"The Siddens Bening Hands Free Law reminds us that we have put down our phones and remain focused on driving to keep ourselves, our passengers and others around us safe," added Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City.

Punishments for violating the law include increasing fines, dependent upon repeat offenses, with additional charges possible for distracted driving crashes causing significant property damage, personal injury or death.

Vision Zero update

City staff are looking to adopt a safe system approach over a traditional road safety practices, Shouse-Jones said. Vision Zero first was adopted in 2016, which that year had seen a spike in serious injury crashes, with 28% involving pedestrians or those on bicycles or motorcycles. Nearly half of fatal crashes in 2016 involved a pedestrian or those on a motorcycle.

"Crashes are preventable. You won't hear me call them accidents," Shouse-Jones said. "We call them crashes, because in almost every case, someone has made a choice about driving behavior or there is some other part of the system that has failed and that crash most likely could have been prevented."

More: Community voices concerns about Paris Road/Route B

In a traditional road safety approach, the purpose is preventing crashes, whereas in a safe system approach it's about preventing deaths and serious injuries, is designed for human mistakes and limitations and proactively works to identify road safety risks and address them, among others, according to information provided to the council.

"All of these things have to work together for the whole system to be safe," Shouse-Jones said, adding the safe system approach looks at vulnerable road uses, i.e. anyone not in an enclosed motor vehicle.

Work done so far includes taking a safe system approach to any planning for roadway projects. The city did its first road safety audit last year on Paris Road/Route B, with a report expected soon, Shouse-Jones said.

The city received a $1.4 million safe streets for all grant from a $13.6 million ask. Even though it was less than what was expected, it still was more than what Kansas City and St. Louis were awarded, combined, Shouse-Jones said. SS4A is an 80/20 cost share, so the city put forward $360,000 from the $1.4 million it received.

The city is expected to go after more SS4A money this year, with an application deadline of July 10. The council authorized the the city to move forward with the application through its consent agenda last Monday.

The grant the city did receive is going toward a reexamination of the city's complete streets policy, the Go CoMo transit route study and pedestrian level-of-comfort map, among others. The money also can go toward updating the city's action plan looking at the city's high-injury network and conducing an equity analysis, among other aspects.

The 2023 SS4A application will look at more pilot projects, road safety audits and safe driving education and behavior modification, mostly for teen drivers, among other projects.

"Transportation safety touches on all of these things," Shouse-Jones said, talking about Randall Siddens 2019 death. "This has a ripple effect. It not only affects families and friends, but it affects all of us."

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Siddens Benning Hands Free Law partially named after Columbia man